Applying for a new job while pregnant

[Traveller3367]

7 months pregnant
Saw a job that I thought I would be good at
Applied without mentioning I was pregnant
Been offered the role and have informed employer I am pregnant and due to go on mat leave soon
They will see if they can get cover but I have offered to decline the position if they cannot.
My question is was I being unreasonable in applying in the first place?
(Ps I wasn't hiding my pregnancy. I didn't know when was best to mention it. Didn't want employer to think I was using it against them if they declined me. Also I valued the chance to network and get some interview practice. Was not expecting to get the role as a big jump for me career wise)

[quote Traveller3367]**@TractorAndHeadphones* and @neednotknow*
So pregnant women in jobs should just be grateful for having a job?
Your points make no sense. Though that's no surprise given your views
So you'd happily discriminate against a pregnant woman, purely based on her pregnancy status. So in fact amongst those you discriminate against ARE the victims of abuse and sexual assault. Unless you are asking every pregnant candidate the circumstances of her pregnancy?
Secondly there are many reasons why a woman may change jobs during pregnancy.
@neednotknow re person A. Clearly her backward views are not universal in the company. And probably why she's not more senior despite being much more experienced and why I will be going in at a much higher pay than her[/quote]
Where exactly have I said that?
Not sure whether you have any more actual arguments given that you're bringing in unrelated things such as abuse and sexual assault?

My stand isn't that people disclose the status of their pregnancy, or that retracting contracts made to pregnant women be made legal, but that people act in good faith. Just like how a company may have a vacation policy, but a line manager can act in good faith by giving an employee more.

You probably don't recall but my response to your original question was YANBU. Because you're working for a large company, they can afford to find temps, you're in a specialised role etc etc you are quite welcome to apply. In fact anybody is free to apply for anything if they want.

However if an immediate start is crucial for the position , if temps etc are not easy to arrange at short notice or similar I consider it bad faith to apply. This may not seem like my stand on previous posts because I was building on my previous responses (forgetting that nobody's going to scroll through to see all posts of someone who's not the OP). But that's my view. Like pp's mention of someone else who was 6 months pregnant at the start of a maternity cover contract ; it smacks of knowing you can't do it but not caring because it's someone else's problem. In this situation If I was manager I certainly wouldn't treat the employee any differently but wouldn't recommend them for a permanent job.

Anyway at this point the arguments have been going round and round in circles so there's probably nothing more to add.

And before the haters come on and accuse me of being a troll
Yes I'm doing a master's
Yes I've got a baby
Yes I currently work
Yes I've been offered multiple jobs in the last few months (despite telling them I was pregnant and planned to keep going)
Y

@Traveller3367

And before the haters come on and accuse me of being a troll Yes I'm doing a master's Yes I've got a baby Yes I currently work Yes I've been offered multiple jobs in the last few months (despite telling them I was pregnant and planned to keep going) Y

You must be Superwoman then.

^Did you just compare having a baby to doing an MSc? Im currently doing one and it's a piece of pee compared to childbirth and newborn care.
How ridiculous to compare a potentially life threatening experience to a degree or a holiday?^

You really have missed the point again. The similarities are that they would have the same effect on a new employer not that they are intrinsically similar experiences.

I feel like it's really easy to sit as an employee and say "it doesn't matter if i'm pregnant, the company should just have to deal with it". Most larger and some medium-sized companies can absorb that into their operating costs, but smaller businesses would really struggle if the person they recruited to cover maternity also goes on maternity and they essentially have to pay 3 people for one role.

Maybe if you thought a bit closer to home and thought of having to hire a nurse out of pocket for a loved one would go if you had multiple nurses go on maternity. Or if it was a nanny for your kids.

@CecilyP
Absolutely not. My point is that to doing an MSc is not a protected status. Being pregnant is
And it's terrifying seeing how many people are happy to openly (and illegally) discriminate against this group
It's people like PPs here that the legislation is there to protect women from

pregnant people you too could embrace a working world where pregnant people

Unreasonable for the "pregnant people" bollox alone.

@strivingtosucceed
I do understand but it's risk that's taken as an employer. Often employers are paid considerably more than employees because they take on the risk
As an employer of a nanny I fully appreciate she may get unwell or pregnant and leave. That's an inconvenience but hasn't stopped me hiring a woman of child bearing age
It's the role of an employer. And often cost neutral due to government payments.
It's like the rich paying more tax than the poor. One side sacrifices to we can ALL love in a better society

*Live

[quote Traveller3367]@CecilyP
Absolutely not. My point is that to doing an MSc is not a protected status. Being pregnant is
And it's terrifying seeing how many people are happy to openly (and illegally) discriminate against this group
It's people like PPs here that the legislation is there to protect women from[/quote]
As i said its not because being pregnant is a hallowed status... its because pregnant women have experienced discrimination in the past.

Pointing out that its best practice that there should be an expectation of continuity of employment on both sides when you apply for a role is not discrimination.

@neednotknow
expectation of continuity of employment on both sides when you apply for a role
If this means you don't give pregnant women then it IS discrimination and you could be liable legally without a leg to stand on

Traveller3367

@CecilyP
Absolutely not. My point is that to doing an MSc is not a protected status. Being pregnant is

No that was not your point; your point was that doing an MSc is is a piece of pee compared to childbirth and newborn care and that childbirth was potentially life threatening, unlike a holiday, neither of which has any relevance to pregnancy being a protective status.

@CecilyP
You have demonstrated my point better than I could have
MSc/holiday leave can NOT be compared to leave due pregnancy / childbirth.
I'm glad we are finally on the same page!

@CecilyP
And I stand by comments about the MSc

Traveller3367

@CecilyP
^You have demonstrated my point better than I could have
MSc/holiday leave can NOT be compared to leave due pregnancy / childbirth.^
I'm glad we are finally on the same page!

I have done nothing of the kind and, no, we are not! I really can’t understand why you think that but, never mind.

[quote Traveller3367]@neednotknow
expectation of continuity of employment on both sides when you apply for a role
If this means you don't give pregnant women then it IS discrimination and you could be liable legally without a leg to stand on[/quote]
thats why its a piss take applying because they cant legally say no if you're the best candidate but as its been pointed out to you again and again in this thread...you wont have worked there long enough to justify going off for a year so even though you legally can maybe you shouldn't if you dont have to?

@neednotknow
So you're asking me to facilitate pregnancy discrimination. Or infarct discriminate against my pregnant self by not even allowing myself to apply?

Also you'll note (if you've been following) that I did decline the offer however the CEO has insisted I reconsider and therefore I will do just that
Interesting to see men who advocate for pregnant womens rights more than "mums"net

[quote Traveller3367]@neednotknow
So you're asking me to facilitate pregnancy discrimination. Or infarct discriminate against my pregnant self by not even allowing myself to apply?

Also you'll note (if you've been following) that I did decline the offer however the CEO has insisted I reconsider and therefore I will do just that
Interesting to see men who advocate for pregnant womens rights more than "mums"net[/quote]
I suspect the CEO won’t have to deal with the ramifications of his “insistence”. That will be some poor minion dealing with the fallout while he goes and polishes his halo for being so enlightened.

Agree with @Blossomtoes. The highest level of management at my workplace are the ones pushing the family friendly policies the hardest, because they’re scared of being sued. They’re also the ones refusing to allocate funds for cover, because there’s no risk of being sued by childless staff members, because being childless isn’t a protected characteristic.

I voted YANBU and you’re not, OP, but you do seem to be striving to force everyone else to behave as though they’re as delighted with your family planning choices as you are, and it’s really unpalatable. I’d struggle to work to you if you were to be like this at work.

This is a really interesting thread. I see a couple of view points though being that you are arguing you may have been discriminated against in the first instance if you'd told them first you were pregnant, but the situation in the end meant they couldn't retract the offer without it being classed as discrimination once they had all the information to hand.

The variable is in the line of work, the ease to fill the role with a temp in order they can stand by that offer without being in trouble. They were in an awkward position, assuming they need the role filling now and it wasn't a planned future hire.

The CEO or whoever called equally is making statements that they shouldn't, to anyone, and their recruitment process isn't aligned.

Discrimination only disappears when, with all the information to hand, you are still called for interview and still get the job. Not by either party being caught by the boundaries of the law. To operate in a way that the law requires less enforcement.

It's tricky. I hope it works out for you either way.

@AudacityBaby

Agree with *@Blossomtoes*. The highest level of management at my workplace are the ones pushing the family friendly policies the hardest, because they’re scared of being sued. They’re also the ones refusing to allocate funds for cover, because there’s no risk of being sued by childless staff members, because being childless isn’t a protected characteristic.

I voted YANBU and you’re not, OP, but you do seem to be striving to force everyone else to behave as though they’re as delighted with your family planning choices as you are, and it’s really unpalatable. I’d struggle to work to you if you were to be like this at work.

Highly doubt that the CEO is a shining beacon of women's rights advocacy You could be a brilliant candidate (in which case it makes financial sense to hire you anyway ); or you have enough evidence to actually sue them even if you declined the job offer by making it seem that they made you do it.

I find the responses here staggering. How on earth are we supposed to achieve career parity if we're not supposed to apply for the perfect job when it comes up, if we're pregnant?

Of course you're not BU, and well done on the employer for not letting your pregnancy get in the way. Whether you go on maternity leave after two months or two years or twenty years shouldn't have any bearing on how they treat you.

How on earth are we supposed to achieve career parity if we're not supposed to apply for the perfect job when it comes up, if we're pregnant?

There’s never just one perfect job. Most of us have had to lose career opportunities at some point because they’re just not practical. In my case 200 miles away and a child coming up to GCSEs and too far away from elderly parents needing support, I couldn’t do it. The same would have applied if I’d been pregnant.